The Qualitative Methods Hub formed in 2013 with the aim to bring together different researchers and practitioners to discuss qualitative research from a range of disciplines and fields across the University and beyond.
The objectives of the Qualitative Hub include:
- To facilitate thinking and discussion around qualitative research in education, and share knowledge and expertise among researchers and practitioners in their experiences conducting qualitative studies, for example in fieldwork, methodologies and designs employed and findings, and how these are reported to different audiences;
- To provide a safe professional space where students can present their qualitative research in progress, as well as one where academics and practitioners can present more established pieces of research in the qualitative domain;
- To provide a platform from which to discuss qualitative research at an interdisciplinary level and facilitate collaborative working and practice among different research communities and universities;
- To support the professional development of staff in their understanding and application of qualitative methods and designs and use of qualitative data in their own research;
- To also provide a space for the presentation of mixed methods studies, with a focus on how qualitative methods and data are integrated with those from the quantitative domain.
The aim is to encourage discussion and collaboration using a range of different channels. These include:
- a series of regular seminars every Thursday lunchtime at the department that invites different speakers (both academics and higher degree students) to present in a friendly space and share their qualitative research endeavours; and
- engagement via podcasts and a blog on this site highlighting ‘Top Five’ tips and learning points garnered from researchers’ and practitioners’ qualitative study experiences.
